Conophytum subglobosum
| Light | Bright light with some shade from harsh summer sun; grow hard in autumn to keep bodies compact |
|---|---|
| Water | Autumn to spring only; keep dry through the summer dormancy (see Watering) |
| Soil | Very fast-draining mineral mix (see Soil and potting mix) |
| Temperature | Keep above freezing and cool; avoid summer heat baking; USDA zones 9b–11 |
| Propagation | Seed; division of established clumps |
| Toxicity | Generally considered non-toxic |
Conophytum subglobosum is a small, rounded, smooth-bodied conophytum that offsets freely to build up low, grey-green cushions of near-spherical bodies. Like most of its genus it is a winter-growing dwarf succulent, staying tightly closed and dormant through the heat of summer, then waking in autumn to push its night-scented flowers from the slit between each pair of fused leaves.
Description
Conophytum subglobosum consists of many tiny plant bodies, each formed from a single pair of leaves fused into a rounded, slightly flattened "cono" only a centimetre or two across. The surface is smooth, grey-green and sometimes flushed or finely dotted with darker tones, marked by a small mouth-like fissure at the top. Rather than growing large, each body divides to make new heads, so a happy plant slowly spreads into a dense, low cushion of dozens of little globes.
Flowers appear in autumn, emerging one to a body from the apical slit. They are small and spidery-petalled, typically whitish to pale straw-yellow and sometimes salmon-tinted, and only faintly fragrant; as the "night-scented" habit suggests, they open toward evening to release their scent, a trait associated with moth pollination in habitat. Each summer the old leaf pair dries to a papery sheath that protects the new body forming inside, which then bursts free when watering resumes.
Distribution and habitat
Conophytum subglobosum is native to the arid winter-rainfall regions of the Cape in South Africa; the genus as a whole ranges from the western and southern Cape of South Africa into southern Namibia. Plants of this group grow wedged into rock crevices and gritty, quartz-strewn pockets, where sharp drainage and the shade of surrounding stones protect them from the worst of the sun. Rain falls mainly in the cooler months, which is why the plants grow in winter and rest, shrivelled and dormant, through the hot dry summer.
Cultivation
The single most important thing with C. subglobosum is to respect its reversed, winter-growing rhythm. Grow it in a very free-draining, mostly mineral mix in a shallow pot, in bright light with a little shade from the fiercest summer sun. Begin watering in late summer or autumn once the old sheaths split and the new bodies show, water regularly through the cool growing months, then taper off and keep the plant essentially dry all summer while it is dormant. Watering a dormant cono in summer heat is the classic way to rot it.
Give it good airflow and grow it fairly hard — too much shade or feeding makes the bodies bloat and lose their neat rounded form. See Watering and Repotting for general technique; conos resent being disturbed while in growth, so repot during dormancy or early in the growing season.
Propagation
Because C. subglobosum clumps readily, the easiest method is simple division: lift an established cushion during dormancy or at the very start of the growing season, tease it into smaller groups of heads, let any wounds dry, and replant into a gritty mix. Seed is the other route and is how the species is raised in quantity; the fine seed is sown on a mineral surface and kept humid and cool. See Propagation — seed and Propagation — offsets for full walkthroughs.
Common problems
- Rot — almost always from water during the summer rest or from a mix that holds moisture; bodies turn soft and translucent.
- Bloating and stretching — too little light or overly generous watering makes the little globes swell and split their tidy shape.
- Failure to shed — in cultivation the old sheaths sometimes need a gentle nudge to release the new bodies if the plant has been kept too dry for too long.
- Pests — mealybugs (white fluff between the bodies and at the roots) and, less often, sciarid fly larvae in soggy mixes. See Pests and diseases.
See also
- Conophytum — the genus overview
- Soil and potting mix · Watering · Repotting · Propagation — seed · Propagation — offsets